Reoptimization for Great Power Competition

GPC Key Decisions

USAF Case for Change

Air Force FAQ for Reoptimizing Great Power Competition

“We need these changes now; we are out of time to reoptimize our forces to meet the strategic challenges in a time of great power competition.”

~ Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall

The United States faces a time of consequence marked by significant shifts in the strategic environment. To remain ready, the U.S. Air Force must change.

In early 2024, the Department of the Air Force unveiled sweeping plans for reshaping, refocusing, and reoptimizing the Air Force and Space Force to ensure continued supremacy in their respective domains while better posturing the services to deter and, if necessary, prevail in an era of Great Power Competition. Through a series of 24 DAF-wide key decisions, four core areas which demand the Department’s attention will be addressed: Develop People, Generate Readiness, Project Power and Develop Capabilities.

Today, the Air Force once again finds itself at a critical juncture—an era of Great Power Competition marked by a new security environment, a rapidly evolving character of war, and a formidable competitor. This new era requires understanding its challenges and the attributes needed to succeed.

Embracing change is not a choice; it is a necessity. The Air Force must “reoptimize” into an enterprise prepared for high-end conflicts and long-term strategic competition.

WVNG Best Warrior Competition 2025 (Full Documentary)

153rd Public Affairs Detachment

Video by Officer Candidate Ayden Norcross, Sgt. Davis Rohrer, Senior Airman Kaden Salmons

Feb. 5, 2025 | 8:05

The full documentary story of the West Virginia National Guard’s Best Warrior Competition, Feb. 5, 2025. The West Virginia Army National Guard is hosting its annual Best Warrior Competition in partnership with Qatar Armed Forces from February 2-5, 2025, at the National Service Academy in Doha, Qatar. This year’s competition is the first to be hosted jointly with a partner nation outside the continental United States, and the first time that partner nation’s military members have competed alongside U.S. service members. The competition features a multitude of core competencies ranging from the Army Combat Fitness Test and weapons lanes; to a foot march and detailed individual warrior tasks and battle drills. The West Virginia National Guard and Qatar Armed Forces partnered in 2018 through the State Partnership Program, the National Guard’s flagship international affairs and security cooperation initiative. Years of combined training and development of enduring relationships between the militaries has led to this event, meant to foster more capable and interoperable partners and pursue shared objectives. More